August 20, 1988|By Michael Blumfield and Mildred Williams of The Sentinel Staff

Traffic problems and contaminated water are frightening parents whose children on Monday will be among the 450 to attend the new Rock Springs Elementary School in Apopka.

Bacteria in the water lines may force school officials to use bottled water, and the lack of turn lanes in front of the school means an Orange County deputy sheriff will be directing traffic along Rock Springs Road.

No one is being blamed for the water problems, but school and county officials are pointing fingers at one another over the traffic hazards.

Meanwhile, parents are fuming.

''They've said it's not the school board's fault. It's not the county's fault,'' said John Howe, whose daughter will attend the school. ''In the meantime, we've still got kids going to school there.''

Parents discussed their concerns about excessive speed and other traffic problems at a recent Parent-Teacher Association meeting but did not learn of the water problems until Friday.

Construction of the school has been under way for eight months, using a design that features all portable classrooms. Superintendent James Schott said the school district would have preferred to have the turn lanes completed, but he said the school's entrance is safe without it. The school system hopes to bus all of the children because the road is so busy, but some parents may choose to drive.

Earlier this summer, school officials submitted plans for adding turn lanes and lowering the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph in front of the school.

But the county objected to some of the plan's features, said county engineer George Cole. The county said the proposed lanes were too short and would not allow traffic to slow enough to turn into the school's entrance.

Cole said he wanted longer turn lanes, but school officials never returned with plans for those modifications.

Orange County Commission Chairman Tom Dorman, in whose district the new school lies, said the school district did not give the county enough warning to prepare for changes to the road.

''The school board does not get in touch with Orange County in time to get anything done,'' he said. ''They always wait until the eleventh hour.''

Schott said the school district wanted the speed limit lowered for safety and cost-cutting reasons. He said he expects the county to agree to lower the speed limit.

If the speed limit is 55 mph, the district would have to build a 600-foot lane. A 45-mph speed limit only requires a 200-foot lane, Schott said. The difference could save $35,000 in construction costs.

Both sides agree the lanes will be added, but it is just a matter of deciding the length. School and county officials will meet Monday to resolve the issue.

Parents, however, are concerned about what happens until the turn lanes are paved.

''It's a 55 mph zone, but most people do 70,'' said Debbie Howe, vice president of the Rock Springs PTA. ''They motorists will pass anything, even a school bus. They even cross the double lines.''

Howe said she also is worried about the water problems.

''When we came to give the teachers coffee and danish Friday, we couldn't do it because we didn't have any running water,'' Howe said.

She said that when she left the school around noon, teachers were using portable toilets.

Robert Cascaddan, the deputy superintendent who handles new construction, said there was running water at the school. He said he was not sure how the bacteria entered the water line but said it was discovered by school system workers earlier this week.

Workers have been chlorinating the water since Thursday, trying to flush the bacteria from the line. One test showed the bacteria was no longer present, but more tests must be run this weekend before the water is declared safe.

If the problem is not cleared up by Monday morning, students, teachers and other school personnel will have to drink bottled water.

Cascaddan said the water is safe for other uses, pointing out that the dishwater is heated to a temperature that kills bacteria.